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The F. R. Newman Arboretum is now closed to vehicle traffic. Please don't let that stop you from enjoying the arboretum this winter. Parking is available at the Mundy Wildflower Garden parking lot off of Caldwell Road at the intersection with Forest Home Drive, which is directly across from the arboretum.

Pedestrians are welcome to explore the arboretum every day from dawn to dusk. Vehicle access will begin again in the srping. Happy winter!

On Thursday, December 4, 2015, Phil Syphrit, Curator of the Conifer Collection at Cornell Plantations, noticed that a white spruce tree (Picea glauca) was stolen from the collection. Sadly, this is an all to often occurrence during the holiday season.

Would you steal a Picasso from the Johnson Museum of Art at Cornell University? If your answer is no, then you shouldn’t steal a tree or even a plant from Cornell Plantations.

For the past 70 years, Plantations has served as a living museum on Cornell’s campus. It’s collections have been carefully cultivated to provide visitors with a world class public garden experience. When a tree or plant is lost to theft it is like losing a unique work of art. Please go to your local Christmas tree stand to purchase a tree that was harvested for this purpose.

“During the holidays, many of us enjoy the tradition of decorating our homes and workplaces with ornaments, trees, and other symbols of the season,” stated Dr. Christopher Dunn, the E. N. Wilds Director of Cornell Plantations. “This is a time of giving. Unfortunately, others seem to see it as a time of taking. It is disappointing that recently, and in the past, some lost souls have deemed it appropriate to steal conifers from our collections, presumably for Christmas trees. Given that we are part of the Cornell University community, of educated and thoughtful citizens, it is all the more disappointing. Please share the joy of the season with family, friends, and colleagues.”

Click here to view a News 10 Now interview with Phil Syphrit, curator of the Conifer Collection.

If you have any information regarding the theft of this tree please contact Cornell University Police at 607-255-1111.

The Cascadilla Gorge Trail from Downtown to College Avenue is now closed
for winter. The trail is closed due to hazardous conditions from
snow, ice, and falling rock that create unsafe conditions. The trail will re-open in the spring when conditions allow.

Although the gorge is closed, you can tour it virtually using Google's Street View feature. Click here for a 360 degree view in front of one of the gorge's waterfalls. To view more points in the gorge, click on the yellow “pegman” in the bottom right corner and drag it to a point on the trail!

People are now able to virtually explore many of the Plantations and the Ithaca area's gorges and natural areas with Google's Street View technology. On November 19, Plantations and the City of Ithaca's Geographic Information Systems program announced its partnership with Google to create 360 degree views of these areas, which cannot always be easily accessed. Google staff trained local professionals to hike these areas with 40-pound backpacks with 15 cameras that took images every 2.5 seconds. The images were then sent to a Google satellite. Cornell Plantations staff Zeb Strickland was responsible for capturing images of Fall Creek and Cascadilla Gorges along with Edwards Lake Cliffs Natural Area.

The Garden Gift Shop in the Nevin Welcome Center will be open for a special holiday sale today from 1:00 - 6:00 p.m. (Early bird hours for Plantations members start at 11:30 a.m.). Holiday shoppers will enjoy a 15% discount on most items; Members will receive a 30% discount.

The Shop has many unique offerings such as handcrafted ornaments, locally sourced gift items, high quality gardening books and more! Your purchases directly support Plantations' gardens, natural areas and education programs.The Shop is open Tuesday – Saturday, 10:00–4:00, through December 19 for all your holiday shopping needs!

On November 8th, 30 people gathered in the Pounder Vegetable Garden to learn about and plant garlic—the first of many planting events that are part of The Garlic Project. This project was initiated by Donna Levy, Plantations' Environmental Outreach Coordinator, and Gary Fine of the Durland Alternatives Library at Cornell University. Describing the Garlic Project's mission, Gary Fine said, "In the small picture, it spreads garlic around your community. But in the larger picture, it’s about education and empowerment around how easy and satisfying it is to grow food and be more in charge of what you eat."

Click here to view a four-minute interview with Jack Elliot, who worked with Cornell students for two-years to clean the roots of a sugar maple, now a work of art used to convey an environmental message.

Bonsai, the Japanese art of growing miniature trees, has been
captivating people for some time. William N. Valavanis, a Bonsai
Master, will cover classical bonsai art and its
history, philosophy and styles. William Valavanis will show techniques for creating and training bonsai as well as how to maintain them in a healthy environment – all illustrated by striking photos taken during his tours around the world. A few bonsai specimens will be brought to the program to illustrate fine quality classical bonsai.

Every Friday afternoon, professor Anurag Agrawal takes his Field Ecology class to different Plantations natural areas to learn the principles of ecology through nature observation and hands-on research projects. Get a close-up view of what the students observed in Plantations' Dunlop Meadow in this 5-minute video.